The transport of a cycle (e.g. bicycle, motorcycle, off-road cycle, trail cycle, or the like) can often present problems for the owner or user. Such cycles are too large and bulky to permit them to be carried inside of a car or motorhome. Although it is possible to carry a cycle or bike in the bed of a pickup, many people do not have access to such a vehicle, or they may not want to lift the cycle to the height required to place it in the vehicle.
Therefore, it is usually necessary to obtain a trailer on which to carry the cycle and then tow the trailer behind the vehicle. This involves considerable additional expense and presents the additional problem of having to store the trailer when it isn't being used.
Many owners and users of cycles do not want to incur the additional expense of purchasing a trailer and also do not want to encounter the problems associated with pulling and storing a trailer.
Although various types of carriers have been previously proposed by others for attachment to vehicles, none of such prior carriers are entirely suitable for carrying all types of cycles. For example, some of such carriers are only capable of carrying bicycles and are not suitable for carrying larger, motorized cycles. Other carriers require essentially permanent mounting to the vehicle. Still others require the use of various mechanical fasteners to mount the carrier to the vehicle, thereby requiring the use of hand tools and some appreciable amount of time to mount the carrier on the vehicle. Some of the carriers are mounted to the vehicle bumper and are not easily detached.
Various prior carriers are described, for example, in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 2,576,222; 3,504,831; 3,744,689; 3,891,132; 4,046,297; 4,676,414; and 4,705,448.
There has not heretofore been provided a safe and effective cycle carrier which is simply and securely mounted to an existing vehicle hitch and which is readily detachable from the vehicle when it is no longer needed.